Black
by Rhea Silverkeys
Summary: One-shot. It'll be simple, Dumbledore said. Just pretend you're a loyal Death Eater, and use your position to protect the students. Sure. Simple. But how was Severus Snape supposed to protect the students when they did stupid things like try to steal Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Headmaster's office?


**The 'I Challenge You!' forum used to have a Colouring the Character Challenge, where you pick a character and write a colour that represents them, or a colour and the character it goes best with.  
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* * *

 **Black**

 _There, his black robes rippling in a cold breeze, stood Severus Snape. He was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair, and at this moment, he was smiling in a way that told Harry he and Ron were in very deep trouble._

– JK Rowling (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

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If you asked Severus Snape what his favourite colour was, he would probably tell you it was black. And if you asked him which shade of black, he would curl his lip and tell you that you were an idiot. Point out that a certain Sirius' surname was Black, and you might find yourself dangling upside down in mid-air with your underpants showing.

Black was simple – if you told someone to get you a black cauldron, they went out and got you a black cauldron. They didn't stop halfway out the door and ask you if you wanted light black or dark black, because there was no such thing. There was just black, and then all the other colours.

Simple. That's what black was. And oh, how he wished his life were simple.

If it were, he wouldn't now be trying a ridiculous balancing act at Hogwarts: continue to convince Voldemort that he was a loyal Death Eater, and protect the students from the sadistic tendencies of the Carrows. The students were the difficult ones... damn Potter and his Dumbledore's Army! That Longbottom child _had_ to decide to grow a backbone _now_ , at a time when standing up for bloody _righteousness_ could get you killed.

 _Gryffindors_. If there was one thing that Severus hated, it was Gryffindors. Nothing good ever came out of them, except... well, if he had to be truthful, Lily Evans and maybe Albus Dumbledore. But the rest were as useful to have around as Gilderoy Lockhart. Severus had about as much respect for him as he had for Wormtail.

Hogwarts was grim these days. The only happy faces he saw were those of the Carrows and the Slytherins who supported the Dark Lord. The rest of the staff hardly ever smiled, and like most of the student population, were more often than not giving him cold, contemptuous, _hating_ looks. He couldn't blame them. He'd killed Dumbledore, led the Death Eaters to victory and to all appearances was a faithful servant of the Dark Lord.

Severus looked around the staff room. Almost everyone was there. They were just waiting on Minerva, then. He felt a slight pang of regret for their ruined relationship. He couldn't say he liked her – in all honesty he couldn't say he liked most of the staff – but he had, to some degree, respected her. Oh, McGonagall had the same ridiculous views as Dumbledore and practically worshipped the man, but she was also competent and didn't have much patience for nonsense, traits which Severus appreciated in a colleague.

There was a soft click as the staff room door closed, and Minerva sat herself next to Pomona Sprout. The Head of Gryffindor House looked at Severus, and in her eyes was no hint of the respect she used to have for the man.

"We begin," Severus said curtly. "First item on the agenda: the Ministry of Magic. Next week, Ministry officials will be sending inspectors to evaluate the curriculum." There were a few looks amongst several staff members at this announcement, but no one said anything. Everyone knew what this meant, of course. The Ministry, or the Dark Lord, rather, was checking up on the staff and determining their loyalty to the new regime.

"All staff members will comply with any and all of the inspectors' requests and may have to subject their offices and private quarters to examination." Filius Flitwick opened his mouth in indignation. "Any questions?" The small professor closed his mouth again, saying nothing. _Of course you won't say anything_ , Severus sneered. _Not if you want to stay out of Azkaban_.

He settled himself on the traditional Headmaster's chair, at the head of the group of tables that had been thrown together for the meeting. "Those are all the Ministry-related announcements. Moving on to the reports –"

"Oh, sod the reports, this school is running fine," Amycus Carrow growled. "Week after week we come in here and talk about nothin', and you lot complain about how things are run, ungrateful, the lot of ya! Be glad you're not rotting away in Azkaban, we could've –"

"Amycus," Severus said, "these meetings are crucial to the running of this school. I for one have a pressing matter to discuss: Neville Longbottom." Three seats away, Minerva raised her head and looked at him over the rim of her glasses. Ink dripped from her quill onto the minutes of the meeting, and several seconds passed before she noticed and charmed away the blots.

"That Longbottom brat is more trouble than he's worth, pureblood or no." This time Amycus' sister, Alecto Carrow, spoke. She, like her brother, was hunched and had a voice that made Severus want to Spellotape her lips together. Why the Dark Lord had chosen this pair was beyond him, but at least it made his job of running Hogwarts easier.

"I propose banning him from setting foot in Hogsmeade," Severus said. He had said 'propose' as if the matter were up for discussion, but it wasn't. They did not discuss things in staff meetings anymore. Rather, the teachers brought up issues and Severus dealt with them, often discreetly interceding so that the Carrows did not run completely free in their sadistic tendencies.

"Garn! That's not a punishment! He'll just be running around creatin' _more_ havoc!"

"Did I forget to mention? A ban from Hogsmeade and detention each Hogsmeade weekend," Severus said carelessly. "If you really want to, Amycus, you can take him for those detentions." The important thing was to keep the boy from Hogsmeade. He could keep him safe in the castle – well, as safe as the castle was, these days. At least a Dementor couldn't 'accidentally' give him a kiss, and Bellatrix Lestrange wouldn't be able to finish him off whenever she felt tempted to.

The meeting wore on, with the Heads of Houses giving their reports. Staff meetings of the past had been boring, even _tiresome_ at times. But now Severus was on his guard. Make sure he protected the students. Make sure no one suspected him of doing so. No one to turn to except the portrait of the blasted man who put him in this position. _Lies and deceit_. Why couldn't life ever be simple?

There were observations of students losing interest in their work or appetites for food. Severus waved those aside. If they did not want good grades, he told Pomona, it was their future at stake, not his. And if she felt it was her responsibility to mother them and make sure they ate their greens, she was welcome to do so. Otherwise, he didn't see why this was being brought up in a staff meeting. "Understood?"

"Understood," Pomona said softly.

"The first-years' wandwork, Severus," Filius brought up at one point. "They're taking twice as long to master spells, and poor Shimpling has yet to master anything, not even a simple Levitation Charm! And it's been two months since term has started!"

Oh yes, the wands. After Ollivander's shop in Diagon Alley had closed down, the first-years could only obtain their wands from the Ministry – second-hand wands that in the official announcements had been "donated", but in reality were wands that had been taken from Muggleborns registered with the Ministry. The wands in Ollivander's shop had all, it seemed, disappeared with the wandmaker. Severus suspected that they might have found their way into the wizarding black market and if so, only the richest of families would have been able to buy their children quality wands. The rest had to make do with the Ministry's supply. Not that there were many first-years in need of wands this year.

"I am having the same problems in my first year Transfiguration classes, Severus. The students need better wands. I notice that most of the Slytherins have decent wands –"

"So?" Amycus said. "So what? What are you trying to say, McGonagall?"

Minerva gave him a cool look. "I am merely stating an observation, Amycus." She spoke to Severus again. "The students need better wands if we are to teach them magic. At this rate we won't have taught them half the syllabus by June. It may be an idea to talk to the parents of those with decent wands and see where they got them from, or to the Ministry to organise a wand-fitting session. It won't be perfect, but at least they'll have better wands than they do now."

"Very well," Snape said irritably. He'd known that randomly giving out wands to the first-years was going to cause trouble. But by the time he'd heard of the scheme, it had already happened.

Alecto went next, shifting restlessly in her chair. "Them students are defying me in class, Severus. _Questioning_ me, the little brats. Telling me about them filthy Muggles and going on about them helping people, donating _bits_ of themselves to save other Muggles... as if they wouldn't turn us all over to an Acromantula if they had a chance!"

"So tell them not to question you," Severus snapped. "Punish them if you want to."

Argus Filch wanted permission to take out the old chains for student punishment. Severus let him. If he was letting the Carrows put the students under the Cruciatus Curse, he saw no reason to say no to the chains. Let everyone think his heart was as black as his robes.

"I must insist," Poppy Pomfrey said, near the end of the meeting, "that you stop inflicting physical pain on the students."

Severus held up a hand to stop the Carrows from speaking. "And why," he drawled, "would I want to do that? If they have done something to deserve punishment, then they should be punished. And if they do not want to be punished, they can behave." _Like Longbottom, for instance. And that Weasley girl_.

"If you continue to punish them so, the school's supply of healing salves will not last long," Poppy said, her eyes flashing.

 _Poppy, Poppy. How long did it take you to think that one up?_ "I believe our greenhouses are self-sufficient?" Snape directed the question at Pomona. She hesitated, locking eyes with Poppy before answering that they were meant to be, but that with the amount of herbs needed each week the situation might change. "And I believe we have a Potions Master that knows how to make healing salves?" Horace Slughorn nodded, his mouth curved unhappily. Already the man had lost weight since term began. "I stand by what I said before. If the students behaved, they would not need to be punished."

Severus wondered if there would come a time when he didn't feel the urge to flinch at the ten or so black looks the staff gave him at every meeting.

* * *

"Venomous Tentacula," Severus muttered to the gargoyle standing guard to his office. He held his wand out as it slid silently to the side, revealing a familiar revolving staircase. Except it was revolving _down_ , not _up_. Severus set his mouth into a frown of grim determination. _Just in time_.

The intruders revealed themselves a few moments later. Severus instinctively shot off a non-verbal Disarming Charm. He was met by a Shield Charm but did not bother trying to disarm the intruders again. Rather, he curled his lip in an expression that was probably all too familiar to them.

"Longbottom, Weasley and Lovegood. Well, well. Stealing from the Headmaster. How naughty of you." He did not lower his wand.

Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley had slightly defiant sets to their faces, but Severus could see a flicker of fear in their eyes, too. Stealing from the Headmaster was bad at the best of times. Stealing from a Headmaster who was also Severus Snape was doubly bad. And that didn't even factor in the fact that they were trying to steal Godric Gryffindor's sword.

" _Idiots_ ," Severus hissed, snatching the sword from Longbottom. What the hell were they trying to achieve? "Did you really think you could break into my office undetected? When portraits line every wall? Gryffindor stupidity at its very height!"

"The portraits wouldn't have reported us," Luna Lovegood said. Why on earth Longbottom and Weasley had taken her along baffled Severus. She was serene as always, which angered him even more.

Severus leant in very close, until their noses were almost touching. "And why is that?"

"Don't –" began Longbottom.

Severus whipped his head around so fast that his hair almost flew into Weasley's face. "Don't what?" he said, very slowly and softly.

Longbottom swallowed hard. "I mean –"

"Don't tell me how the portraits wouldn't have reported you? I'll take a wild guess and say you used a Confundus Charm, or some Peruvian Instant Darkness powder." A slight widening of the eyes. _So predictable._

"What's this, Severus?"

Severus' robes made a _swoosh_ -ing sound as he turned around. It was Amycus Carrow. _Damn it_. There was no hiding the sword, and Severus didn't think lying would help. "These _half-wits_ –" He jerked his head at the three students – "think it is amusing to try and steal from the Headmaster."

"Steal from the Headmaster?" Amycus' eyes narrowed as his pallid face turned red. "You little brats think you're so smart! Well smart this!" He turned his wand on Lovegood. " _Crucio_!"

She screamed and collapsed onto the floor as her legs failed to support her, arms curled up around her body as if she could protect herself from the curse.

"Amycus," Severus warned. No response. "Amycus!" he snapped. "I will deal with them. Now go."

The Death Eater left, small eyes filled with hate as he promised to make their lives miserable the next time he saw them. Only when the hallway fell silent once more did Severus turn to the Gryffindors, keeping his face masked in anger and dislike. He made no comment on Luna Lovegood, who was pale and trembling, nor on Longbottom, who was helping to keep her upright and steady. _Bloody Gryffindors making life hard as usual..._

It wasn't like he could just expel them and be done with it. He couldn't even let them have detention with the Carrows, because what they had done was so big that Amycus would probably torture them halfway to insanity. How the hell was he supposed to protect the students when they did stupid things like try to steal Godric Gryffindor's sword from the Headmaster's office?

"Weasley, what is the standard punishment for wrongdoing at Hogwarts?"

"When it's being run by Death Eaters or normal people?" the youngest Weasley shot back.

Gryffindors were going to kill him one day. Would probably end up doing so, in the end. Severus tried not to think about that. "Weasley, when I ask you a question, I expect an answer, or would you like to experience the joys of the Cruciatus Curse for several hours? I daresay Professor Carrow would enjoy finding out just how long it takes before someone is declared insane." Severus paused, allowing the three imbeciles time to reflect on his words.

"The Forbidden Forest has been far less accommodating lately as a result of an increasing population of Acromantula and centaurs that no longer take kindly to wizards. Hagrid will find work for you to do there. Every night for a month. Beginning today, after dinner.

"In addition you will each write me an essay about the fallacies of youth, half a foot long, with a different essay due every three days. Any essay not handed in on time will result in five more essays, and if you hand in gibberish, I will assign you an extra ten. Understood?"

Even Weasley was looking a little pale at the end of his speech, the little flare of relief when Hagrid was mentioned having died soon after it appeared. Sixth and seventh year students normally had large workloads and Severus knew both the detentions with Hagrid and the extra essays would mean many late nights and a probable lack of sleep. Hopefully, this would also mean that they had no time to think up mischief and Severus would have an easier time of running Hogwarts.

"Now get back to your common room. Dismissed."

Severus sighed when he was alone, and had stepped onto the revolving staircase. Simple. Why couldn't life be simple?

 **\- END -**

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 **I'm not sure if the colour-character pairing is enough of a theme...at the very least, it inspired it I guess! Constructive criticism very welcome...if you find any mistakes or odd sentence structure or OOC moments do let me know! I also like to know if you actually enjoyed reading this ;)**


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